Changing Beauty Standards Over the Decades

With the rise of social media and technology being at everyone’s fingertips, it’s almost impossible to keep up with trends in beauty. 

The media follows a feminine beauty ideal that still expects women to fit into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ box – they should be skinny, but with curves in the right places, but they should also exercise daily. The expectation is for women to have the ‘perfect’ Kardashian-esque body without ever having any surgery or implants. The beauty of the 21st century is that the majority of us are able to express ourselves and our identities, which is helping to push back against these unrealistic ideals. With 92% of all cosmetic procedures in the US being carried out on women, it’s important that we understand how our ever-changing beauty standards affect those around us.

This infographic aims to look back in time at the beauty standards imposed on women over the decades.